Cambridge International A-Level Business 9609
AS and AL Key Terms
edited by Songyue Wang
AS Level
1.1 Enterprise
Business objectives: measurable targets set by the business such as sales or profits that have to be
achieved in a given time period.
Primary sector: the first stage of production and includes extracting or growing resources.
Entrepreneurs: individuals who take risk to create or start new business or project.
Enterprise: skill needed to make a new idea work.
1.2 Business Structure
Unlimited liability: an individual or group of individuals personally responsible for all the actions of their
businesses.
Limited liability: investors can lose the money they have invested into the business but their personal
possessions are safe.
Company: a business organization which has its own legal identity and limited liability.
Shareholder: an investor in and one of the owners of a company
Dividends: money that is paid out of profits to the shareholders, a reward to the owners of the business.
Franchise: occurs when a franchisor sells the rights to use or sell his or her products to a franchisee.
Cooperatives: owned and run by and for members.
1.3 Business Size
Niche: small segment of a market.
Mission statement: sets out the overall purpose of a business.
1.4 Business Objectives
Objective: a target that is measurable and has a given timescale.
Strategy: the long-term plan to achieve the objective of a business.
Tactics: the short-term actions needed to implement the strategy.
, Budget: a financial plan.
Ethical behaviour: behaviour that is thought to be morally correct, and not necessarily the most
profitable.
1.5 Stakeholder in a Business
Stakeholders: groups or individuals who have an interest in a business.
Accountability: the extent to which the individual or a group is held responsible for a decision or a
policy.
Social responsibility: a philosophy under which businesses consider the interests of all groups in society
as a central part of their decision making.
2.1 Management and Leadership
Authority: the power or ability to carry through a task or action.
Leadership: the function of ruling, guiding and inspiring other people within an organization in pursuit of
agreed objectives.
Management: planning, organizing, directing and controlling all or part of a business enterprise.
Delegation: passing authority down the organizational hierarchy. This is only genuine if the manager
relinquishes some control to the subordinate.
Piece-rate pay: a system that an employee’s wage is determined by the quantity of products produced.
Business culture: the attitudes, values and beliefs that normally exist within an organization.
Communication: the exchange of information or ideas between two or more parties.
Emotional intelligence: the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating
ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.
2.2 Motivation
Motivation: describes the factors that arouse, maintain and channel behaviour towards a goal.
Labour productivity: measures the output per time period of an employee.
Labour turnover: the percentage of a workforce that leaves its employment with a business over some
period of time, normally one year.
Absenteeism: describes a situation in which an employee is absent from work without a good reason.
Human needs: elements required for survival and normal mental and physical health.
AS and AL Key Terms
edited by Songyue Wang
AS Level
1.1 Enterprise
Business objectives: measurable targets set by the business such as sales or profits that have to be
achieved in a given time period.
Primary sector: the first stage of production and includes extracting or growing resources.
Entrepreneurs: individuals who take risk to create or start new business or project.
Enterprise: skill needed to make a new idea work.
1.2 Business Structure
Unlimited liability: an individual or group of individuals personally responsible for all the actions of their
businesses.
Limited liability: investors can lose the money they have invested into the business but their personal
possessions are safe.
Company: a business organization which has its own legal identity and limited liability.
Shareholder: an investor in and one of the owners of a company
Dividends: money that is paid out of profits to the shareholders, a reward to the owners of the business.
Franchise: occurs when a franchisor sells the rights to use or sell his or her products to a franchisee.
Cooperatives: owned and run by and for members.
1.3 Business Size
Niche: small segment of a market.
Mission statement: sets out the overall purpose of a business.
1.4 Business Objectives
Objective: a target that is measurable and has a given timescale.
Strategy: the long-term plan to achieve the objective of a business.
Tactics: the short-term actions needed to implement the strategy.
, Budget: a financial plan.
Ethical behaviour: behaviour that is thought to be morally correct, and not necessarily the most
profitable.
1.5 Stakeholder in a Business
Stakeholders: groups or individuals who have an interest in a business.
Accountability: the extent to which the individual or a group is held responsible for a decision or a
policy.
Social responsibility: a philosophy under which businesses consider the interests of all groups in society
as a central part of their decision making.
2.1 Management and Leadership
Authority: the power or ability to carry through a task or action.
Leadership: the function of ruling, guiding and inspiring other people within an organization in pursuit of
agreed objectives.
Management: planning, organizing, directing and controlling all or part of a business enterprise.
Delegation: passing authority down the organizational hierarchy. This is only genuine if the manager
relinquishes some control to the subordinate.
Piece-rate pay: a system that an employee’s wage is determined by the quantity of products produced.
Business culture: the attitudes, values and beliefs that normally exist within an organization.
Communication: the exchange of information or ideas between two or more parties.
Emotional intelligence: the capacity for recognizing our own feelings and those of others, for motivating
ourselves, and for managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships.
2.2 Motivation
Motivation: describes the factors that arouse, maintain and channel behaviour towards a goal.
Labour productivity: measures the output per time period of an employee.
Labour turnover: the percentage of a workforce that leaves its employment with a business over some
period of time, normally one year.
Absenteeism: describes a situation in which an employee is absent from work without a good reason.
Human needs: elements required for survival and normal mental and physical health.
